Brief Description: Redesigned wing tip hing pin retainers
I used the hinge method for attaching the wing tips and they worked well - once the pins were installed. The problem was that the pins were very difficult to push in, especially the last foot or so. I made sure that the eyelets on the hinge halves were clear of debris and lubed the pins with Boelube but the pins still took a great deal of force to install, even using pliers.
I recently came across a YouTube video from fellow RV-8 builder (RV8Pilot) in which he showed his wing tip hinge installation and he demonstrated that the pins can easily be installed by chucking them in a cordless drill and spinning them while applying just a little force. That's a whole lot easier then fighting with the pins like I had been doing. The problem was that the way I secured the aft ends of the pins to the wing tip was different from what he had done. I used two small sections of hinge with the eyelets oriented vertically and the pins were bent 90 degrees to lock them in. With this bend I wasn't able to chuck the pin in the drill.
Today I fabricated new retainers with eyelets that line up with the full length of the pins. I re-bent the aft end of the pins so that they are straight again and can now be installed using a drill.
Reinstalling the tips using this method was a breeze and I'm sure glad I came across that video.
